New map pinpoints areas people feel unsafe in Warrnambool

Nine locations across Warrnambool have been highlighted on the YourGround interactive map so far as part of the initiative which allows people to anonymously drop a pin and share their experiences.

The city council has joined with 19 other Victorian municipalities for the project which aims to gather perceptions about public safety for women and gender-diverse people.

Warrnambool mayor Vicki Jellie said the project would provide insights to help make Warrnambool's public spaces more inclusive and equitable.

"We want to know where these places are so we can look at what can be done to make them feel safer," she said.

Cr Jellie said one of the best things about Warrnambool was how walkable it was.

"But the reality is that more than half the city's population is restricted in the places where they feel safe going or travelling through, especially at night," she said.

"Most women and gender-diverse people would have a story about a negative experience when out in public, ranging from a general feeling of unease right up to being the victim of a crime."

Speeding motorists at Thunder Point car park and Viaduct Road at dusk were identified as places people have felt unsafe.

"This can feel quite intimidating as you have to walk through the car park to access the Thunder Point walking track," one person wrote.

While Worm Bay and parts of the foreshore were identified as great places to walk with a "buzzing good vibe", the lack of lighting near the caravan park was raised as a concern.

Another person said poor or no lighting as well as tall bushes in the isolated area east of the Flume made it unsafe for walking and running at night.

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Poor lighting at the bottom end of Liebig Street was also identified as an issue. "After dark it is very uncomfortable and dangerous," one person wrote.

Instances of night-time harassment on Cramer Street were also highlighted.

While 80 per cent of Australian men report feeling safe while walking alone at night, a 2019 Community Council for Australia report notes that only 50 per cent of women say the same.

YourGround was created by Monash University's XYX Lab and digital consultancy CrowdSpot.

XYX Labs co-director Dr Nicole Kalms said that the ability to move freely in and around the places you live, work and play, and to feel you belong in your space and place was an essential human right.

"As designers, architects, urban planners, councillors, facilitators, even equity experts, we can't make assumptions about what women and gender-diverse people experience," she said.

"XYX Lab works from lived, sometimes hidden, experiences to really make an impact." The map can accessed at www.yourground.org.

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